The following patents and published patent applications provide examples of vehicle enclosures, including golf cart enclosures.                U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,019 issued on Jul. 30, 1974, to Serbu,        U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,315 issued on Mar. 22, 1977, to West,        U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,859 issued on Nov. 11, 1986, to Spicher,        U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,694 issued on Sep. 27, 1988 to Gerber, C. E.,        U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,714 issued on Jun. 12, 1990 to Chance, H.,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,340 issued on Mar. 2, 1993 to Nuscher, E. H.,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,275 issued on Jun. 8, 1993 to Ridge, W. D.,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,656 issued on Nov. 9, 1993 to Carrol,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,235 issued on May 10, 1994 to Seymour et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,881 issued on Feb. 14, 1995, to Spencer,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,118 issued on Feb. 28, 1995 to Welborn, R. B.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,404 issued on Jul. 4, 1995, to King,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,317 issued on Aug. 4, 1998 to Nation, R.,        U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,615 issued on Nov. 2, 1999 to Showalter, J. M.,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,134 issued on Dec. 28, 1999 to Weston, A. G.,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,447 issued on Mar. 27, 2001 to Nation, R. F.,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,745 issued on Aug. 21, 2001 to Wilson,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,637 issued on Aug. 27, 2002 to Tyler,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,445 issued on Aug. 17, 2004 to Conner et al.,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,059 issued on Jul. 12, 2005 to Feinberg,        U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,334 issued on Aug. 9, 2005 to Diehm,        U.S. Patent Pub. No.: US 2005/0093331, published on May 5, 2005, by Al, Moskos et al.        
Many of the enclosures described in the above patents suffer in that they employ heavy frames which are expensive and difficult to install. Many of the lightweight enclosures described in the above patents suffer in that they employ doors with zipper closures that must be unzipped to allow a user to enter or exit the cart. Many of the enclosures described in the above patents also suffer in that they encumber the users of the vehicle by providing doors that partially block the ingress and egress of a user to and from the vehicle.
In providing a protective vehicle enclosure for an open sided vehicle, it is desirable to provide a strong rigid frame to firmly support a flexible waterproof cover to protect against the weather while remaining light in weight so as not to become too top heavy and disrupt the stability of the vehicle against tipping. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) sets safety standards for golf carts. Tests for vehicle stability against tipping both laterally and longitudinally are set forth in ANSI/NGCMA Z135-2004. These tests are performed with a vehicle payload of no less than 170 lb. or more than 180 lb. With such a payload equal to the weight of about one passenger, adding significant weight when installing of a weather-protective enclosure on a golf cart may render its performance in these stability tests uncertain.
In providing a protective vehicle enclosure for an open sided vehicle, it is also desirable to provide easy access into and out of the vehicle without encumbering the users of the vehicle.
Seluga et al. conclude in their article “Low Speed Vehicle Passenger Ejection Restraint Effectiveness,” Journal Accident Analysis & Prevention 2005; 37:4:801-806, that hip or handhold restraint systems typically found on existing golf carts can be ineffective, particularly where the passenger is a child. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a protective vehicle enclosure for an open sided vehicle which enhances passive restraint of the occupants within the vehicle.